Name Nominations: Hartford & Yellowknife
The time has come to start suggesting names for the IceHL's 2012 expansion franchises. Last week it was announced they were awarded to Hartford, Conn. and Yellowknife, NT.
To nominate team names for consideration, simply post them in a comment below. If you see someone before you has suggestd a name you like, say so in your comment. The more popular suggestions are more likely to be among the 25 selected for the voting process. I will base those 25 on whether they are creative, unique, and of course, popular.
Here is a list of locators you may use to precede your team nicknames:
- Hartford
Connecticut | New England - Yellowknife
Northwest Territories | Northwest
You can be creative and suggest other names. The worst that could happen if they're not acceptable is they won't be included in the voting. But so as not to waste anyone's time, don't bother submitting Whalers. It won't be considered.
There are some other important don'ts. You may NOT use the name of any current or past IceHL, NHL or WHA team, nor any current ECHL, AHL, CHL, WHL, QMJHL or OHL team. You may NOT use the name (or any variation thereupon) of any current or past sports franchises in the market or geographical area. And if your suggestion is vulgar, obscene, or in any way inappropriate, it will not be considered.
Only names nominated in the comments of this post will be considered. Do not email or tweet your suggestions if you want them to be included in the voting process.
Submission period ends: Monday, March 26
Voting on eligible name nominees is scheduled to begin on April 6, following the end of the Pacific Division jersey voting. (That begins this Thursday, March 15. Submissions closed on Sunday night.)
Some other upcoming IceHL events: Later this month, I'll start accepting jersey design submissions for the Southeast Division and then we'll hold a poll to determine how the IceHL will be realigned after it expands to 32 teams this year. In April, we'll vote on Southeast Division jerseys after we wrap up the Pacific. We'll also get to some other minor questions that I think the community should decide. Fun year ahead for the IceHL!
Chris
We're barely a day into this, but I feel the need to chime in on these name nominations. I want to encourage you guys to stop trying to hard to find a name that "means something." If you have to try so hard that the name sounds absolutely awful for a hockey team, then it's not worth it.
Ask yourself one question about the names you suggest. Can you imagine chanting them alongside 20,000 other screaming fans without feeling like a dolt? If not, it's probably not worth recommending.
Also, the name Hartford Harpoons or any variation of it or "Whalers" will NOT be accepted for voting. This league is not going to be a rehash of the NHL. We're going to do something original here. There are so many creative people in this community that I know we can do better than simply copying history.
Reader Comments (103)
Northwest Miners - Yellowknife's main industry is diamond mining.
Yellowknife Diamond Cutters
I also like Northwest Aurora(s)
I like The Hartford Harpoon, but it does really call into the violent nature of whaling. And i'm guessing all the "fantasy" anti-whaling groups would be down this "fantasy" league's throat for having such a named team.think the
And Chris is right, i think the reason the harpoons are so popular is because it reminds people of a identity they're already comfortable with.
I'll add the Hartford Seawolves
Yellowknife Golden Blades
Yellowknife Copperheads
Northwest Golden Blades
Northwest Copperheads
(Note: Not typically a fan of nicknames lacking an ending in "s" but to me these could be very cool)
Hartford Arsenal
Hartford Barrage
Hartford Blue Colts
Hartford Jackals
Hartford Wildcats
North West Crusaders
North West Attack
North West Toros
North West Copper
Hartford Titans
Hartford Rebels
Hartford Storm
Hartford Hawks
Connecticut Colts
New England Crusaders
Connecticut Torpedoes (submarine factory in Bridgeport)
Connecticut Robins (state bird)
I really like the Hartford or New England Harpooners as a name. I live in CT, and this area is known for whaling. Our state animal is the sperm whale. It really is a New Engalnd name, and it should be considered.
I don't know much about Yellowknife, but Miners is a good name for them.
Hartford Ship-men
Connecticut Fleet
New England Revolution
Hartford Highlanders
Yellowknife Icemen
Northwest Mounties
Yellowknife Northmen
Yellowknife Miners
Hartford Owls
Hartford Prowlers
Hartford Reds
Hartford Paladins
Connecticut Yanks
Connecticut Knights
Connecticut Millionaires
Northwest Sled Dogs
Northwest Tuskers (with a Walrus or a Narwhal as a logo)
Northwest Meteorites
Northwest Fire Foxes (Fox Fire is another name for Northern Lights)
Northwest Ice Miners
Northwest Shamans
Northwest Icebergs
Northwest Growlers ( a term for an iceberg that can double as an animal)
Northwest Norsemen
Hartford Clippers sounds awesome.
Yellowknife Miners, Gold Rush, Herd (Caribou), or
Northwest Tundra
Yellowknife Lights. Less is more!
New England Minutemen
Wow... I thought Yellowknife Aurora would be an original idea :( We could do Yellowknife Solar Wind, it's what causes Aurorae (I'm kinda sure that's the right pluralisation), and it sounds a lot better. My other idea is the Yellowknife Sealers, referring to the annual seal hunt (not the Whalers). The seal hunt is a debated topic, but i hope it doesn't count as an inappropriate name.
Hartford Horsemen
Hartford Hornets
Hartford Federals
Hartford Mariners
Hartford Bulldogs
Connecticut Clippers
Hartford/Connecticut Confederates
Hartford Falcons
Yellowknife Nuggets
Yellowknife Ice Pilots
I like the suggestion of the Yellowknife Narwhals.
Yellowknife Nation- the northwest territories is first nations land
Yellowknife Freeze
I really like the Connecticut Cannons name mentioned before.
Also, Northwest Yellowknifes. (Leafs isn't grammatically correct. This doesn't have to be).
Previously suggested names I'd like to second include:
Northwest Narwhals
Northwest Caribou
Yellowknife Aurora
Hartford Stags
Hartford Hounds
The names I'd like to submit are:
Yellowknife Ice
Yellowknife '35ers
Yellowknife Wildcats
Yellowknife Giants
Northern Lights ("Northern" being an "other name" I'd like to "be creative and suggest"; if you don't think it'd work, then I'll second Northwest Lights, which someone else suggested)
Connecticut Riverdogs
Connecticut Dockers
Hartford Fishermen
Hartford Burn
Connecticut Union
Hartford Fog
New England Nor'easters
hartford rising stars
yellowknife blades
Trying to avoid unnecessary alliteration and overreliance on place-specific significance and focusing on just doing solid names
Yellowknife Blizzard
Yellowknife Stags
Hartford Grinders
Hartford Horde
Hartford Tribe
It would be nice to have a team in Yellowknife named the Northern Lights, since Northwest Lights doesn't have the same ring to it. Another cool name that doesn't use one of the 3 listed prefixes would be the Arctic Freeze.
Other ideas:
Northwest Aurora(s)
Yellowknife Fighters
New England Navy
Hartford Hounds
Hartford Undertakers
Yellowknife Survivors
New England Superheroes
Conneticut Rouges
Hartford Phantoms
Yellowknife Assasins
Hartford Ship-men
Hartford Storm
New England Trappers
New England Revolution
Conneticut Muskets
Conneticut Redcoats
Yellowknife Icemen
Northwest Nuggets
Yellowknife Miners
Yellowknife Northmen
I had a lot of ideas, and alot of them have been mentioned already...
Yellowknife/Northwest Miners (No prefix, Keep It Simple Stupid)
Yellowkife Tundra
Yellowknife Arctic
Yellowknife Arctic Fox
Yellowknife Polar Bears
Yellowknife Otters
Yellowknife Beavers
I also like Fire Foxes which I never would have thought of
Connecticut Beacons
Connecticut Cannons
Hartford Fox
Hartford Red Foxes
Hartford Bobcats
Hartford Sea Wolves
Hartford/New England Nor'easters